Review: Bound - Sue Tingey

Lucky de Salle was dragged into the Underlands against her will, but there she discovered a whole new world - and a whole new life. She always knew she was psychic, but discovering her ghostly best friend was in fact her daemon half-sister - and she herself is half-daemon - came as a shock. Falling in love with two men wasn't in her plan either, but that's working out brilliantly.

Or it was . . . until Jamie tries to use his powers to control her, and Lucky loses all trust in him. Then when Lucky's enemies kidnap Jinx, intending to use his powers to destroy both human and daemon worlds, Jamie and his fellow Guardians are ordered to bring Jinx back - dead or alive.

If Lucky is to save him, and forgive Jamie, she must learn to use her own burgeoning powers - and fast!

The Soulseer Chronicles:
Marked
Cursed
Bound

Visit Sue Tingey's website for more information

Review:
Bound picks up the story a few weeks from where Cursed left off, Lucky, Jamie and Jinx are in a great place relationship wise but it all goes horribly wrong when Jinx gets kidnapped by their enemies. Thanks to their bond Lucky feels his pain as he is tortured and she's desperate to rescue him as quickly as possible. Jamie also wants to rescue him but as a Guardian he has an important role to play in protecting humanity and when Jinx is taken to the human realm the Guardians are ordered to stop whatever plan his kidnappers are working towards - even if the only way to do that is to kill Jinx. Even though Jamie promises her he'd never hurt Jinx Lucky finds herself struggling to trust him so she decides to work alone to bring Jinx safely home.

One of the things I've loved most about this series is that the author completely avoided the dreaded love triangle by making it clear from very early on that the two demon love interests were more than happy to share. I think this is the first time I've come across a triad relationship in urban fantasy but hopefully it won't be the last because that's definitely a solution I can get behind - I'd just like one that doesn't fade to black for the good bits please! I love how different the two guys are Jinx is the more playful teasing member of the group while Jamie is more sensitive and very caring but they're equally devoted to Lucky.

For her part Lucky has always seemed to care for both guys equally but that seemed to go a bit out of the window here and I ended up getting really annoyed with her for not trusting Jamie more. I get that she was desperate to rescue Jinx but Jamie would never do anything to hurt her and that includes letting the Guardians kill Jinx. It felt a bit manufactured to cause drama and because she refused to work with Jamie Lucky ended up making a lot of stupid decisions and getting herself into trouble because she'd go charging into situations with no back up. It made the story interesting for sure but I did want to shake some sense into her and I felt quite sorry for Jamie because it made him seem like the outsider in the relationship.

Overall I've really enjoyed this trilogy though, there's been lots of action and Lucky's guards have all been such brilliant characters. I'm going to miss all of them, even Mr Shenanigans and Mr Kerfuffle but especially Pyrites. I'm sad we're not going to get more stories about this group but I'll definitely be watching out for whatever Sue Tingey publishes next.

Source: Received from Jo Fletcher Books in exchange for an honest review

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Review: Cursed - Sue Tingey

Lucky de Salle thought she was human, then she discovered she was a daemon princess - and now it's looking like she's something much more . . .

Lucky knows she has some hard choices to make: will it be Jinx, the sexy Deathbringer, or Jamie, the gorgeous Guardian?

But before she can even start to enjoy life in the Underlands, her sister's men are slain and Kayla herself is kidnapped by the Sicarii, assassins-for-hire members of a death-cult.

They can't be working for Lucky's nemesis, for Henri le Dent is being held in the court's dungeons, at least according to court torturer Amaliel Cheriour - but the Chambers of Rectification are empty, both Amaliel and Henri have fled and it soon becomes clear that Kayla is just bait to catch Lucky.

Lucky's emerging powers are growing, and Amaliel intends to use her for his own nefarious purposes - though first he has to get past her Guards, not to mention Lucky herself.

The Soulseer Chronicles:
Marked
Cursed
Bound

Visit Sue Tingey's website for more information

Review:
Cursed picks up the story immediately after the ending of Marked so Lucky, along with her guards, are currently on the run after being accused of treason against her father. Before they can figure out who set them up and go about proving their innocence Lucky discovers that her sister Kayla has been kidnapped by a dangerous cult of assassins. Lucky will do whatever it takes to find her sister, even if that means going back to her father and asking for his help. Court politics are more complicated than ever without Kayla on hand to protect her though and her father soon gives her an ultimatum, bring home her sister safely or go on trial for treason.

This series is just getting better and better, Lucky is growing into her own strengths as a character and starting to come to terms with everything she learned about herself and her background in the first book. She still doesn't love being in the Underlands but she is starting to discover that, like humans, not all daemons are evil and there are daemons she can consider her friends. She was marked by two of the most powerful daemons alive and her attraction to both Guardian Jamie and Jinx the Deathbringer is growing stronger by the day but she's worried about having to choose between the two. Both guys still seem more than willing to share though so I'm still rooting for them to end up in a triad relationship - surely that's the best way ever to resolve a potential love triangle!

I love the side characters in this series, Jinx and Jamie are both brilliant, opposites in a lot of ways but both completely united when it comes to protecting Lucky and keeping her safe. It's hard to say which of the guys I prefer, I like Jinx's sarcastic sense of humour and the way he always needles the others but I also love Jamie's sweeter personality. Jamie comes across as more laid back but he's just as dangerous and anyone who underestimates him won't survive long enough to make the same mistake twice. Pyrites the drakon is utterly adorable but the remaining two guards Mr Kerfuffle and Mr Shenanigans have really grown on me too and the whole group just works really well together.

Cursed really stepped things up a gear in terms of action and danger. Lucky and her friends are all put to the test and some scenes were quite gory. Sue Tingey definitely has a knack for writing the blood and guts moments so I'll admit to being more than a little disappointed that the sexy times ended up being fade to black! There is a lot going on in the world and there were definitely a few twists I didn't see coming so I'm definitely looking forward to continuing the series and picking up my copy of Bound.

Source: Purchased

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Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten 2016 Releases I Meant To Read But Didn't

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Each week has a different theme & you can find all the details about how to join in HERE.

Today's topic is Top Ten 2016 Releases I Meant To Read But Didn't Get To. There were actually a lot of 2015 books that I was really excited about but never got around to reading but here are the ones I REALLY want to try and get to soon!

Top Ten 2016 Releases I Meant To Read But Didn't Get To:

Young Adult

1. Witch's Pyre - Josephine Angelini 
2. Riders - Veronica Rossi
3. The Raven King - Maggie Stiefvater
4. Arcana Rising - Kresley Cole
5. Torch Against the Night - Sabaa Tahir

Adult:

1. Grave Visions - Kalayna Price
2. Cursed - Sue Tingey
3. A Closed and common orbit - Becky chambers 
4. Alliance - S.K. Dunstall
5. Infernal - Mark de Jager

What books are on your list?

Review: Marked - Sue Tingey

With no family and very few friends, Lucky’s psychic ability has always made her an outcast. The only person she can rely on is Kayla, the ghost girl who has been with her since she was born.

But Kayla is not all that she appears.

And when Lucky is visited by a demonic assassin with a message for her friend, she finds herself dragged into the Underlands – and the political fight for the daemon king’s throne.

Lucky, trapped in the daemon world, is determined to find her way home… until she finds herself caught between the charms of the Guardian Jamie, the charismatic Daemon of Death Jinx – and the lure of finding out who she really is.

The Soulseer Chronicles:
Marked
Cursed
Bound

Visit Sue Tingey's website for more information

Review:
Lucky is a psychic with the ability to see ghosts, something that has always made people look at her a little strangely and made her a bit of an outcast. In fact, her best (and only) friend is a ghost called Kayla who has been by her side for as long as she can remember. Lucky generally tries to keep herself to herself but when she receives a call from her old school about a ghost problem they're having she agrees to help by performing an exorcism. It's only when she gets there and discovers that the problem is actually demon related that Lucky realises she's in over her head and her world is turned upside down when she makes a startling discovery about her best friend. Not only is Lucky now being hunted by a demonic assassin but she finds herself in the middle of a political battle over who gets to rule the Underlands.

Marked is Sue Tingey's debut novel and she really starts her Soulseer Chronicles with a bang, I love discovering new authors and my only disappointment here is that I'm now going to have to wait a year for the next instalment. This is the kind of story that sucks readers in very quickly and you end up completely losing track of time while you're reading. The world building was clever, I enjoyed the contemporary British setting and feel to the beginning of the story but I also loved getting to visit the parallel world of the Underlands. Imagine heaven and hell aren't two places but instead one place combined, a place where demons of all manner roam alongside guardian angels. Not all demons are evil and not all of the angelic creatures are good so it's not always easy to spot friend from foe. This is the world that Lucky finds herself drawn into thanks to her relationship with Kayla. Lucky is completely thrown by everything she discovers, she is confused, shocked and scared but at the same time it is exhilarating getting to explore a new world and she soon realises that she could have a very different life in the Underlands to the lonely existence she had at home. She just has to decide what kind of future she wants.

I really enjoyed the relationship between Lucky and Kayla, they have been friend's for Lucky's entire life but Kayla has been keeping some huge secrets and that really effects the way Lucky sees her. Lucky is initially heartbroken by the way she feels that Kayla has betrayed her and it's not going to be easy for her to get past the lies and untruths she has been told. Their relationship is complicated but there is a strong bond between them and it's obvious that Kayla has Lucky's best interests at heart. There are some other really fantastic side characters in the book too, a particular favourite has to be the dragon Pyrites who was absolutely adorable but I also found myself incredibly amused by Lucky's bodyguards Mr Kerfuffle and Mr Shenanigans.

If you had told me about a potential love triangle before I picked up this book I probably would have been hesitant to read it, I'm so sick to death of that trope that it's starting to spoil books for me, but I have to admit that it is done really well here. Lucky has caught the attention of Guardian Angel Jamie as well as Jinx, the Daemon of Death, and it's very easy to see why they both hold such appeal to her. Jamie and Jinx are almost complete opposites and it's impossible to decide if I prefer the dark and brooding bad boy or the enigmatic angel. In fact I'm really, really, REALLY hoping that she's going to keep them both, there were a few hints that they'd be open to sharing and that's definitely the outcome I'm rooting for!!

Marked is a fantastic start to this new series, it has plenty of action, some great twists, brilliant characters, realistic world building and just a hint of romance. The story is a great mix between urban fantasy and straight up fantasy and I'm looking forward to more of that as the series continues. It's definitely a book I'll be reading again and I'll be eagerly waiting for the next book when it releases next spring.

Source: Received from Jo Fletcher Books in exchange for an honest review

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